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“Wheat” is the prevailing theme in the September report from the FAO, with eight out of ten news items focusing on policy developments and forecasts related to the commodity.

The FAO Monthly News Report on Grains provides a collection of news articles on issues or factors considered critical in shaping the regional/global grains economy, as well as links to reports, statistics, and upcoming events.

Among children under the age of five around the world, 161 million are stunted, 51 million are wasted, and 42 million are obese, according to the 2015 Global Nutrition Report released today by the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) in Washington, DC. The report illustrates that malnutrition takes many forms and affects every country on earth. Whereas some solutions for reducing malnutrition are promising, it does not take the same form nor demand the same policy solutions in every country or context.

The Food and Agricultural Organization reports that food prices for August fell 5.2 percent from July levels and down 21.5 percent from last August. The FAO Food Price Index is at the lowest level since April 2009 and down 35 percent from its recent peak in February 2011. Compared to a year ago, prices for cereals, meats, and vegetable oils are down between 15 and 20 percent, while prices for sugar and dairy products are down by about a third.

Dropping oil prices, concern over the global financial implications of economic slowdown in China, and higher than expected global yields for wheat, maize and rice are all contributing to the continued descent of crop prices, according to the September edition of the AMIS Market Monitor and the FAO Food Price Index , both released today.

BY: David Laborde and Simla Tokgoz, IFPRI